Last week, I found my name on a list of Pushcart Prize nominees at The Gettysburg Review. I published “Natural Births,” a chapter from Sacred Threads, in their Spring 2009 issue.
The Pushcart Prize is like the Academy Awards for those of us who publish our writing in literary journals. Editors of any literary journal can nominate up to six of their writers from any year. Members of the Pushcart’s Board of Contributing Editors can add others (as far as I can tell, my nomination came this way). That adds up to a lot of nominations every year.
The chances of being one of the 60 or so winners out of thousands of nominations are slim. Still, I figure if actors and actresses who make gazillions of dollars can brag about their Academy Award nominations even if they don’t win; we writers (some of whom make zero dollars a year on our work) ought to be able to boast about a Pushcart nomination.
I’m certainly thrilled to be nominated and to have my name on the same list as Sherman Alexie (who published a poem in the Winter 2009 issue of The Gettysburg Review).
The 2010 Pushcart Prizes will be awarded in May. To learn more, visit www.pushcartprize,com
Wow! What an honor. Congratulations! I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.
Thanks, Jason. Like I said, winning is a long shot. I’m satisfied with the nomination itself.
This is fantastic news! Congratulations, and yes, while I hope you get it, the nomination alone is wonderful.
And that is so cool to share the “stage” with Alexie. wOOt!!
Thanks, Deb.